Friday, March 21, 2008

John McCain's Position on Gun Issues


Creepy poster, huh?

Let's leave the Socialist Workers of the World candidate and see how our best option, John McCain. comes down on guns. This is from John McCain's official positions paper, which I obtained from Steve Schreiner at the Firearms Coalition of Colorado:
"Neither justice nor domestic peace are served by holding the innocent responsible for the acts of the criminal."
-Senator John McCain

Protecting Second Amendment Rights

John McCain believes that the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a fundamental, individual Constitutional right that we have a sacred duty to protect. We have a responsibility to ensure that criminals who violate the law are prosecuted to the fullest, rather than restricting the rights of law abiding citizens. Gun control is a proven failure in fighting crime. Law abiding citizens should not be asked to give up their rights because of criminals - criminals who ignore gun control laws anyway.

Gun Manufacturer Liability

John McCain opposes backdoor attempts to restrict Second Amendment rights by holding gun manufacturers liable for crimes committed by third parties using a firearm, and has voted to protect gun manufacturers from such inappropriate liability aimed at bankrupting the entire gun industry.

Assault Weapons

John McCain opposes restrictions on so-called "assault rifles" and voted consistently against such bans. Most recently he opposed an amendment to extend a ban on 19 specific firearms, and others with similar characteristics.

Importation of High Capacity Magazines

John McCain opposes bans on the importation of certain types of ammunition magazines and has voted against such limitations.

Gun Locks

John McCain believes that every firearms owner has a responsibility to learn how to safely use and store the firearm they have chosen, whether for target shooting, hunting, or personal protection. He has supported legislation requiring gun manufacturers to include gun safety devices such as trigger locks in product packaging

Banning Ammunition

John McCain believes that banning ammunition is just another way to undermine Second Amendment rights. He voted against an amendment that would have banned many of the most commonly used hunting cartridges on the spurious grounds that they were "armor-piercing."

D.C. Personal Protection

As part of John McCain's defense of Second Amendment rights, he cosponsored legislation to lift a ban on the law abiding citizens of the District of Columbia from exercising their Constitutional right to bear arms.

Criminal Background Checks

John McCain supports instant criminal background checks to help prohibit criminals from buying firearms and has voted to ensure they are conducted thoroughly, efficiently, and without infringing on the rights of law abiding citizens.

Background Checks at Gun Shows

At a time when some were trying to shut down gun shows in the name of fighting crime, John McCain tried to preserve gun shows by standardizing sales procedures. Federal law requires licensed firearm sellers at gun shows to do an instant criminal background check on purchasers while private firearm sellers at gun shows do not have to conduct such a check. John McCain introduced legislation that would require an instant criminal background check for all sales at gun shows and believes that such checks must be conducted quickly to ensure that unnecessary delays do not effectively block transactions.

The Firearm Purchase Waiting Period

John McCain has opposed "waiting periods" for law abiding citizen's purchase of firearms.

The Confiscation of Firearms After an Emergency

John McCain opposes the confiscation of firearms from private citizens, particularly during times of crisis or emergency. He voted in favor of an amendment sponsored by Senator David Vitter prohibiting such confiscation.

Stiffer Penalties for Criminals who use a Firearm in the Commission of a Crime

John McCain believes in strict, mandatory penalties for criminals who use a firearm in the commission of a crime or illegally possess a firearm. Enforcing the current laws on the books is the best way to deter crime.
I'm still not comfortable with McCain's stand on background checks at gun shows, but folks, I believe this is the best we're going to get. I have been impressed by his stance on the old and any new AWBs, because it has been rock solid consistent. He also made it a point to join in the Senate amicus brief on Heller.

Given the importance of this election, I think this is the way we have to vote.

PS: The "OBEY OBAMA" poster is from American Digest.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Said it many months back. It is all about winning. Cut and dry. If you ain't in power you can't do jack. So let's jetison the past. Right now we have only ONE candidate on our side.

Anonymous said...

I will obey.

;)

Anonymous said...

Back Mac--there ain't no oter choice!! dmd

Anonymous said...

Michael; all well and good, but I'm going to reserve judgement and my decision until I find out who The Manchurian Candidate's VP running mate is going to be.

The reason is simple at age 71 the chances are that McCain won't outlive his presidency. The job chews people up and I think he's too old, but what choice do we have?

However if he picks someone like Romney or some other jibe-pseudo conservative, then I'll stay home and invest in rust ihibitive grease and well hidden storage containers because we already know what's coming.

All The Best,
Frank W. James

Anonymous said...

McCain supports mandatory sentences for those that "use guns in a crime or possess a gun illegally."

Hmmm, a homeowner finds hooligans stealing his $2,000 riding mower at night. He shoots out their tires to prevent them from making off with his property. They are convicted, but some moron prosecutor charges him with illegal discharge of a weapon in the city limits. He's convicted. Oh wait, he used a FIREARM in a CRIME. Sorry fella, that's another 5 years mandatory prison time. The judge has no choice and cannot tell the jury about the consequences of them voting to convict on this minor charge.

The state you are in bans carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol. You have a valid permit, but forget this and go have dinner with the family at Red Lobster. An off duty officer "makes" you and arrests you on a misdemeanor charge. You have now "possessed" a firearm illegally. Sorry dude, mandatory 5 years away from your family in a gang-filled prison. Enjoy that little vacation.

MANDATORY SENTENCES ARE EVIL. Anyone that supports them is either brain dead or evil themselves.

James said...

I'm not nuts about McCain, but compared to Obama he is Harlton Carter. Obama is the sort who quite literally thinks on a personal level that NO ONE should have any firearms for any reason. He is easily worse than Hillary Clinton or John Kerry. McCain, flawed as he may be, is our best, our only option.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Frank on this. The McCain campaign and the National Committee have sent me notes for money. I responded (knowing they don't read responses to those things) "I can't donate til I know who the VP is".

Anonymous said...

Mac's vp choice will make or break his chances.
How would it play out if he teams up with Lieberman?
Does Joe 'bring a state' with him? Or even the right one?

Kilgore said:"The state you are in bans carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol. You have a valid permit, but forget this and go have dinner with the family at Red Lobster."

If you are a celebrity and try to take a 9mm into the secure area of the airport, "I forgot" is a valid excuse...the little people/serfs better not try this one.

Mandatory sentences tie the hands of judges unnecessarily. If the judges are too weak on sentencing, vote them out or impeach them.
DON'T let someone pass mand. sent. laws.
That, in and of itself, doesn't break Mac in my book. Compared to Hitler or Hussein, Mac is our only hope.

kmitch200

Anonymous said...

It isn't who his VP will be. That's just being stubborn. next it will be, "who will he pick as his Attorney General?" Then it will be something else.

With the oral arguments in the Heller case having been heard this past week there is only one question you need to ask, who do I want picking the next supreme court justices?

I'm going out on a limb here and suggest maybe we want the guy that opposes assault weapon bans, opposes bans on hi-cap mags and believes in the individual right to own a firearm. That's just my take on it.

But if you want to wait until he passes your personal VP litmus test then go right ahead and withhold your endorsement. Maybe a better candidate will show up before November.

As for McCain and the difficult life of a US President. I gotta figure as long as they don't make you sleep on a cement slab and beat you everyday then he can probably endure the hardship. Unless of course you believe that 4 years in the white house is far more difficult than 5+ years in the Hanoi Hilton in terms of the toll it takes on the human body and soul.

Anonymous said...

"withhold your endorsement. Maybe a better candidate will show up before November.

Relax dude, get a calender it's only Mar. 23rd.
Unless a solid 2A candidate with foreign policy expertise and 40 states of support appears out of nowhere, I'm sure Mac will have all of our "endorsements". What he really wants is your vote.

"Unless of course you believe that 4 years in the white house is far more difficult than 5+ years in the Hanoi Hilton in terms of the toll it takes on the human body and soul."

You don't think there is a difference when you are 30 years old, VERY well pt'd and freshly well brainwashed? Just the sleep deprivation of the campaign is showing on him. Not seeing McCains age is skirting reality.
So much for his body - his soul was sold the minute he became a career politician.

km200

Anonymous said...

McCain was bred to lead. THe McCain family has served in every American was since the revolution. There was a McCain family member serving on Washington's staff. He has two sons. One a Midshipman at Annapolis and one a Marine in Afghanistan or Iraq at the moment.

If he sold his soul it was sold to America long before he decided to run for office.

Sitting back and playing political takes more that saying "age will be an issue and to prove it that's what I am going to talk about."

Anonymous said...

The reality is McCain has never been a reliable friend of the 2nd Amendment or the 1st for that matter.

Yes, McCain is a war hero in the truest sense of the word, but his erratic behavior and his betrayal of Constitutional issues over the years since he has gained national office raise the issue of just how much 'better' he will be than the alternative.

And at age 71, his age IS AN ISSUE. 5 years in the Hanoi Hilton 35 years ago does not comput to his health and longevity as President while in his 70's. The Presidency of this country eats people alive. It ate up Eisenhower, and LBJ to mention only two. The chances of McCain surviving a 2nd term of four years without some sort of health problem is certainly relevent to the discussion of his candidacy.

That's why his choice of VP is so vital in my view.

As for my "The Manchurian Candidate" label for McCain, I feel his POW years have certainly influenced his behavior negatively in subsequent years and decades.

My view is a person MUST vote for someone they believe in when voting for the Presidental candidate, and if you vote for the lesser of two evils, then technically you are still voting for evil and therefore you become part of the problem and not part of the solution.

All The Best,
Frank W. James

Anonymous said...

I believe I would rather have McCain pick the next Supreme Court Justice(s) (not to mention all those lower court judges) than either Obama or Clinton. That is where the battle is truly waged. If you prefer to fight over mandatory gun locks included with new guns rather than the interpretation of the fundamental rights of individuals being addressed in Heller then more power to you, or less as the case may be.

Anonymous said...

Lets see. President Reagan live to be 92? George H. is in his 80's and jumping out of airplanes. How old is Carter? I guess if you can live through it. You can live awhile longer. I suspect they could give him Human Growth Hormone.

Anonymous said...

Vote for Obama.

Change We Can Believe In.